ImageCue 1.1 Image Server

ImageCue™ is a compact, easy to use image server that provides control of high definition still images and videos with only twelve channels of DMX512. Each ImageCue™ includes a library of 255 images and videos. In addition, users can supply their own images and videos using a USB flash drive or external solid-state drive to provide access to over 65,000 image and video files. Starting with software version 1.0.1.8 audio playback on HDMI is now possible.

Product Description

ImageCue™ is fast - images and videos are selected and displayed/played in less than a quarter of a second. You can instantly “bump” from image to image, image to video, video to video, or video to image. Still images can also be crossfaded - with crossfade times of ½ second to 109 minutes in 1/10 second increments.

ImageCue™ accepts JPEG files for still images, and H264 (AVI) video files. PNG files with transparency can be overlaid onto images and videos. A software utility to convert user content to H264 is available for the following video file types: MOV, MP4, AVI, MPEG, and VOB.

Starting with software version 1.0.1.8, ImageCue also accepts media file formats MP4, MOV, MKV and M4V to play videos with audio (Personality 2).

ImageCue™ gives the user full RGB mixing control of the background, and the color mixing can also be used in the foreground to tint images and videos. Full dimming control is provided for the output. ImageCue™ provides the power and elegance to select and display images and videos from your DMX512 lighting console, without the complexity of a media server.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How much does ImageCue cost?

A. The MSRP (List Price) of ImageCue in North America is $995.00 which includes the ImageCue Unit, Power Supply, Mounting Bracket, and DVI Adapter. There is no additional software or hardware to purchase. You supply the DMX512 signal from your control console with your 5-pin DMX cable, and the HDMI or DVI cable to your display device. If you want to use your own content you must supply a USB Flash Drive.

Q. Who do I call for technical assistance?

Q. I just updated software but the LCD shows a different version number. Why?

A. There are two processors in an ImageCue. The version number displayed by the LCD is the FIRMWARE version. To view the SOFTWARE version number set the Control Mode parameter (channel 10) to a value of 255. This will display the version number on the output display. This image is "latching". A new image/video must be selected to clear the version number image.

Q. Does ImageCue do audio?

A. Beginning with software version 1.0.1.8 - YES! Audio is available in Personality 2 through the HDMI port. The 3.5mm jack is NOT supported. Please refer to the User's Guide.

Q. Nothing is showing up on my output device, what's wrong?

A. There are a few things to check. Go to the Knowledge Base for help.

Q. Where is the color?

A. The color layer is BEHIND the image layer by default. Select image (3rd channel) = 0. Or, move the color in front of the image by setting the 10th channel (Mode Control) to a value of 64 (25%). The 9th channel sets the saturation level of the color and should be at 255 (100%) for full saturation. No color will be visible at a setting of 0.

Q. How do I change the output resolution?

A. On the ImageCue unit, press the Navigation Button until the LCD display reads "User Menu". Using the navigation button, scroll down to Display and press the button to select that menu. In the display menu, scroll down to "HDMI RESOLUTION". The line below will show the current resolution. Move the navigation button left or right to see other available resolutions. When the resolution you desire is in the window, press the button to select it. Scroll down to "EXIT" and press the navigation button. YOU MUST NOW CYCLE THE POWER ON IMAGECUE TO RESET THE OUTPUT RESOLUTION TO THE PREVIOUSLY SELECTED RESOLUTION.

Q. Why do I see color and images or videos behind my JPEG content?

A. Your JPEG content is not the same size as the output resolution. Your content needs to be re-sized or placed onto a background the same size as the output resolution (i.e. 1920x1080).

Q. My JPEG images take longer to load than the stock content. Why?

A. More than likely your JPEG is larger than the 1920x1080 pixel maximum size. Resize your JPEG to no larger than 1920x1080. For best performance the resolution should be the same as the output resolution. Read more here.

Q. Can I use a HDMI Splitter with ImageCue to drive multiple displays?

A. Yes. But the HDMI Splitter must be able to handle refresh rates down to at least 30Hz. Many inexpensive HDMI Splitters will only operate at 50/60Hz refresh rates. A splitter that we have tested successfully is the Bytecc HMSP102K which is available from several online sources. They also make a 4-way splitter.

Q. Can I use a USB extention cable for my USB Flash Drive?

A. It is possible to use ACTIVE USB Extender cables with ImageCue. The use of an extender can provide access to the user's USB Flash Drive when ImageCue is mounted in an inaccessible location. While ImageCue cannot guarantee satisfactory performance with the use of a USB Extender, we have tested 16 foot (5 Metres) and 32 foot (10 Metres) ACTIVE extenders without encountering any problems. The use of non-active extenders is not recommended. The extenders we tested were from Monoprice and BlueRigger.

ImageCue Downloads

With the latest Update for Windows 10, Windows will ask to format SD Cards or USB Thumbdrives which have a non-Windows formatted partition like the ImageCue SD Card. DO NOT EVER click OK, if you have inserted the ImageCue SD card for updating the ImageCue Software. Doing so will render your SD card inoperable with ImageCue! You must click "Cancel" (sometimes several times) to continue. Make sure you access the drive labeled "BOOT" for your ImageCue software update.

ImageCue SD Card Software

Attention: This Update is NOT compatible with the SD card, that is shipped with the "Wireless Content Upload Kit". Use this Update only for non WIFI SD cards.

ImageCue User Content Utilities for Windows 64Bit

There are now several useful utilities available to help you prepare your content for ImageCue. These utilities are installed the same way as any other windows application. The new utilities require that following applications are installed prior to the installation and usage of our utilities:

The Universal USB Utility for user content

Simply connect a USB memory stick to your PC and this utility guides you through all necessary steps. From preparing your USB Stick for ImageCue, through the selection of your content, to the automatic DMX prefix numbering and format conversion. If your content does not match the desired size and resolution, it will be scaled according to your requirements and a black background will be added.This allows you to crossfade images and videos with undersize content properly.

ImageCue USB Flash Drive Template

Software Release Notes:

Version 1.0.1.8: In addition to the standard DMX Personality 1, we added DMX Personality 2. With this new personality, the following new features are available:1) Play media files in the formats MP4, MOV, MKV and M4V.2) Audio output for these media files over HDMI output3) Adds 2 additional DMX channels: Channel 13 for Playback Control (Values 0-Play, 1-Pause, 2-Pre-Roll) and Channel 14 for volume (Values 0-255).

These features are only available in Personality 2 (Not in 1, 3, or 4).

Version 1.0.1.7/Version 1.0.1.7a: In addition to the standard DMX Personality 1, we added DMX Personality 4. With this new personality, the following new features are available:1) Wait/Devamp for videos (Channel 10 (Mode) - DMX 130 = Wait/Devamp; DMX 194 = Wait/Devamp with color in front). In this mode, a newly selected video will wait until the currently playing video reaches its last frame. At this point, the new video will begin playing from the first frame. The transition from video to video is seamless. No additional commands are necessary to commence playing of the second video.2) Video to video crossfading is enabled (crossfade quality is content specific)3) Added conversion table for “percentage only” consoles – checks for existence of “percent_only.txt” file (this file contains no data). If it exists, converts DMX values to first 100 files/folders.

NOTE: These features are not available in Personality 1 or 3.

Fixes:1) Fixed a crash condition if “file_error.jpg” is not found on the USB drive2) Increased time for USB drive to mount at boot time if USB content is selected.3) Corrected issue in 1.0.1.7 when selecting stock content and user overlay 001 and reboot.

Version 1.0.1.6: Adds a much requested feature that allows a video to play once and freeze on the last frame. Two control mode (chan 10) values have been added to support this feature. 129 and 193. These values are similar to 128 and 192 except that the video will hold the last frame and not exit. Changes to some HDMI parameters were made to support projectors that were losing vertical sync when ImageCue quickly changed videos. Added a 1080x768 60Hz resolution as "Option 2".

Version 1.0.1.5: Fixes a significant bug in 1.0.1.4 that caused video lockup when scrolling very quickly through video files. A bug in the "Play Once" mode has been fixed so that long videos do not exit early. Compatibility with Firmware 1.0.1.2, Firmware 1.0.1.3, and Firmware 1.0.1.4 (Standalone Mode) verified.

Version 1.0.1.4: Only released in Europe. This software version needs to be updated to 1.0.1.5 to avoid video lockup when scrolling through videos quickly.

Version 1.0.1.3: Original software release for units with serial numbers 11000001 to 11000160. We recommend updating to 1.0.1.5.

ImageCue Console Fixture Profiles

We have become aware that some fixture profiles out there do not have the "snap" attribute assigned as needed by these parameters:

Folder Select (Chan 2)

Image Select (Chan 3)

Time (Chan 4/5)

Control Mode (Chan 10)

Overlay Select (Chan 11)

Playback Control (Chan 13 - in Personality 2 only)

In order for ImageCue to work properly within a Cue stack, the "snap" attribute must be assigned!! Without this attribute, intermediary images will appear from cue to cue. (This is because ImageCue is so fast!)

The control consoles listed have fixture profiles for ImageCue. If your console is not listed and you would like to have a profile created please let us know via email to: info@imagecue.lighting .

Providing your own Images and Videos

The fastest and easiest way to prepare your content for ImageCue is with the ImageCue User Content USB Utility!! Please refer to the Downloads page for more information.

The quality and format of the content you create or use with ImageCue is key to satisfactory performance. We strongly recommend downloading and reading the ImageCue User's Guide, particularly Section 3 - User Media, BEFORE attempting to use your own content in ImageCue. However, for those of you that just want to jump right in - here are some key points

Jump start:

Your content should match the output resolution. Typically this is 1920x1080 pixels. In no case should your content be any larger than 1920x1080 pixels!!! Tall and narrow images should be placed on a 1920x1080 background.

Your content filenames must not have any space characters. We recommend the "_" underscore character instead of spaces.

JPEGs cannot be progressive, and should be no larger than 1920x1080 in size. They must be in RGB color space.

PNG overlays MUST be 1920x1080 or 1280x720 pixels in size depending on output resolution.

ImageCue scales JPEGs and Videos to fit the output resolution while maintaining aspect ratio. PNG overlays are not scaled.

Video must be RAW H264. In nearly all cases you will need to use an extraction utility. Renaming a container file such as MOV, MP4, MPEG types to H264 WILL NOT WORK!!

The USB Flash Drive must have the proper folder and file structure. A template is available below.

Media files in the formats MP4, MOV, MKV and M4V must contain a video stream in h264 format. The video part is scalled to fill the hole screen (with clipping)

Use the media files only if you whan to output audio. Without audio, use h264 format to achieve maximum performance.

To set up your external USB drive download this zip file and unzip it to the root of your USB drive (it cannot be inside a folder). It will create the 255 user folders for you so that you don't have to type them all in. All of the folders are empty, ready for you to drag and drop your images and videos into them. After unzipping to your USB drive you will have a README.txt file that explains how your image and video files need to be named. The file structure also contains the "png" folder for overlays as well as a folder called "image720" that is used by the system.

Do not remove the files named "file_error.jpg" as they are used by ImageCue when the USB Drive is active.

All video content must be in a RAW H264 format. Videos encoded with a codec other than H264 must be re-encoded as H264. The ImageCue User's Guide explains how to determine which codec encoded your video content and how to transcode it if necessary. ImageCue has created a suite of utilities to help you get your content into this format.This utilities are available on our download page.